The European Petanque Championships were held in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022. This event offered great opportunities to make a social impact. Petanque is pre-eminently a sport where it is easy to meet new people. It is not difficult to play and you can play it practically in any neighbourhood. Jeu de boules therefore lends itself perfectly to reducing loneliness and increasing social cohesion in various neighbourhoods. A proven and low-threshold petanque intervention with its own platform has therefore emerged from this: Boules in your Neighbourhood.

One of the municipalities where 'Boules in je Buurt' will still be running in 2024 is ‘s-Hertogenbosch. In June, 'Boules in je Buurt's' activities will come to the Bossche districts of Boschveld, Muntel/Vliert, Hintham and Deuteren/West. The low-threshold activities offer residents of all ages and backgrounds the chance to be together, get moving and meet new people. Jeu de boules takes centre stage as the connecting element, revolving around meeting and making new friendships.

Win-win-win situation
With Boules in je Buurt, we aim for a positive outcome for everyone. The aim is to get people more involved in their neighbourhood, promote the use of municipal boules courts and increase enthusiasm for petanque. Thanks to the dedication of volunteers, jeu de boules will be played at four different locations for four weeks, with some of them coming from ‘s-Hertogenbosch directly from the association Pétanque Union Bois Le Duc. By doing so, they hope not only to see more new faces at the club, but above all to spread the sociability and connectedness of the sport.

Boulesinjebuurt.nl
Participating municipalities of 'Boules in je Buurt' use the newly developed platform www.boulesinjebuurt.nl. The platform contains all necessary information and documents for municipalities to organise the programme. Each municipality will have its own page with information and registration page for participants. Using this platform, it will be even easier to organise this intervention in your own municipality.